Management stream

As a 2 year development programme, the management stream provides access to training and career development opportunities you won't find elsewhere in local government.

From managing countywide projects to drafting policy and strategy, you'll take on early responsibility and make a real contribution towards improving the quality, accessibility and efficiency of public services in Kent.

On the scheme, you will undertake four 6 month placements in key areas of the council that may include:

Adults or Children’s Social Care

Commissioning

Public Health

Libraries, Registration and Archives

Economic Development

Early Help and Preventative Services

Strategic Business Development and Intelligence

Engagement, Organisation Design and Development

Business Services Centre

Your specific role during these placements will vary and they may involve you working on very high profile projects. We are aiming for you to gain a balanced understanding of the way the council works whilst gaining an overview of the organisation.

There may also be the opportunity to be placed with iESE in a partnership role. iESE work with Local Authorities on transformation projects throughout the country. This placement is an exciting opportunity to see first-hand how other local authorities are transforming and bring this knowledge back to benefit KCC. The iESE placement provides an accelerated development experience and exposure to a range of robust tools and methods that can broaden and enhance your skillset.

Placements are decided by a board made up of a representative of each of our directorates. The board decides which placements are the most business critical. Selected placements are then shared with the graduates who have the opportunity to state their placement preferences based on their interests and their personal development needs.

Salary

Candidates will receive a starting salary of £24,473 which will increase with progress.

Location

Candidates can expect to work in a variety of our offices across Kent. Our main offices are based in Maidstone. However, placements may be anywhere in Kent.

Training and development

As a trainee on the Management Stream, you'll get the chance to develop your management and project management skills and achieve recognised qualifications.

We offer graduates the opportunity to study for an APM Project Management qualification. To supplement this, our graduates also study for a level 5 Operations and Departmental Management apprenticeship.

You will also have access to our accredited Management and Leadership Development Programme, our extensive suite of e-learning and our graduate development framework.

You are fully supported from day one and will be allocated a mentor and a placement manager, as well as receiving ongoing support from the Kent Graduate Programme Team.

a GCSE in English Language - grade A to C or equivalent (new grades 4-9)

All overseas applicants must have the UK equivalent. See our equivalency table to check if you meet our academic requirements.

Additional information

We are an equal opportunities employer and we represent a diverse community, therefore we welcome applications from people of every race, disability, gender, age and sexual orientation. There is no upper age limit for applications.

We are looking for candidates with the potential to become future senior managers. The selection process allows candidates to draw from experiences within their academic or working career. So you may be a recent graduate, or you may have workplace experience already.

If you are due to graduate this summer you are eligible to apply if you are predicted a 2:1 or higher but please state your predicted grade clearly on the application form.

Unfortunately, due to the vast numbers of applications we receive we are unable to accept applications from candidates who achieved a 2:2 or lower.

Rachael Letchford - Kent Graduate Programme 2016

I started on the Kent Graduate Programme in 2014 and as part of the programme I worked on two placements across Education and Young People’s Services and Growth Environment and Transport. After a year on the programme, I secured a permanent position within Social Care as a Commissioning Officer. Currently, I am working as part of the Adult Social Care Transformation programme team. We are responsible for delivering the Adult Social Care vision as outlined in Kent County Council’s Your Life, Your Wellbeing Strategy. I am leading on a project which aims to design and implement an integrated rehabilitation model, bringing together both health and social care services.

My time on the Kent Graduate Programme equipped me with many essential skills and a wealth of experience which I believe helped me to secure my current role. The programme encourages graduates to spend time shadowing senior managers, directors and members to ensure they have a good level of exposure. This was really important for me, as my ideal career path wasn’t apparent when I started at Kent County Council. The shadowing opportunities therefore helped me to not only develop my understanding of the council but also find out what I wanted to do in the long term.